Thinking of trying RCCL instead of DCL, info please

How ethical would it be to take those towels and return them to the towel station as if they were your own?

Asking for a friend.
 
RCCL will always be less expensive than Disney. The Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis class ships are great for families.
 
We have done both, but our DLC experience was likely not typical. We were on a WBPC for 15 days. The boat was about 2/3 full and there were about 110 kids on board. Soooo that said it was amazing. I'm not sure I would think it was that great for a typical 5 day trip. RCI was also fun but our only experience was a quick weekend "booze cruise" type trip, but it was just me and the boys who were 6 and 4 at the time. Again my input may be a bit biased based on the details of our trip. We are booked to go on Oasis next week so we will see how the big boat stacks up.

I have not found food on any of the major lines (and we have used 6 of them in the last 5 years) to be a deciding factor. They are all about equal. However, on our RCI trip, I really struggled to feed the kids from the Buffet. The food offered was to "fancy" for them. I just needed a plain turkey sandwich, not some exotic roasted duck on a stick. Disney always had plain old kids food available and it was easy to find.

What the Royal ship lacked in space they made up for with staff. The RCI (and princess) staff were the best of all the lines we have tried. My kids liked the DLC kids club at 4 and 6, but I don't think that would necessarily be the case now at 11 and 9.

One place that Disney was a clear standout, was in the "family environment". The music on the pool deck is loud but family friendly. This is not always the case on the other lines. The movies at the pool are fine for all audiences on DLC, That was not the case on RCI. One night we walked inside to avoid the pool movie because, well it was too much for my kids. I say this from a the perspective of a "not overly conservative" parent. My kids listen to top 40 music on the radio and we have cable TV at home. Sometimes the "sexiest legs" competition is just a little much on the pool deck. We did not see those things on disney. During our Disney trip there was also no "unlimited booze" plan. We don't drink and I often feel like I may be the only sober passenger on board.

The disney staff also did an amazing job in picking up after the passengers. Sometimes on the other lines there is food on tables and bar cups around the pool longer than they would have been on DLC.

I think generally DLC is a better product. But the question is: Is it a 40% better product. For my family the answer is absolutely not. If it was a 10% difference maybe. There are trades, but for use we would rather take 2 trips than spend 2X as much on one. My kids have enjoyed all of our cruises and we have seen a lot of the world. Each line has a few quirks, but generally it is a good time.
 


I think generally DLC is a better product. But the question is: Is it a 40% better product. For my family the answer is absolutely not. If it was a 10% difference maybe. There are trades, but for use we would rather take 2 trips than spend 2X as much on one. My kids have enjoyed all of our cruises and we have seen a lot of the world. Each line has a few quirks, but generally it is a good time.

This exactly. We did a Disney Dream 4 night last year and RCL Allure 7 night this year and while I think Disney quality was better in most ways, I'm not convinced it was worth it in the end. We're still doing another Disney next year with our placeholder on the Fantasy, but my 6 and 8 year old loved the flow rider and rock wall on the Allure.
 
We've been on Disney Magic and Royal's Allure with out kids . While both are very good and I totally love Disney parks, I prefer Royal when it comes to cruise ships. Maybe that's because Royal seems to cater to families whereas Disney ships cater to kids. Our kids were younger on Magic and so it was a good choice (although our younger one was almost too little as she couldn't go in the pool and kids club due to diapers). But they really loved Allure when a bit older (10.5 and 6.5 years). There is so much to do from swimming to pools, to mini golf to rock wall, to daily things like scavenger hunts, etc. The shows are great too with Dreamworks, parades, ice shows, etc. We have Symphony booked next as they'll also be water slides etc. For your kids ages, I would personally recommend Royal (newer ship with more activites/facilities)
 
Hi! We went on the Oasis in Feb. So now we have done 4 Disney cruises and one Royal Carribean. The Oasis was immaculate!! We did splurge and got a family suite, which was perfect for 5. We even had a jacuzzi tub on the deck. I think we paid 8,500 for the week or something like that. But we had concierge service which made the vacation incredible. As long as we got to a performance 10 mins before it started they had saved seats for us. It included access to the suite lounge which offered free coctails, beer and wine at night. We were really taken care of. On a Disney ship we normally get two connecting Ocean view or verandah rooms and honestly the price difference wasn't that much.

My parents and brother also went on the ship. One had an interior room and the other a small balcony room. Both were nice rooms. I will say that the Oasis is built w/ a central mall type area so you can't see the ocean when you are just walking about. This is very different than the Disney ships. On Disney I don't care so much if I don't have a verandah but on the RC ships that have a promonade lay out I would recommend an ocean view balcony otherwise you won't have many great views.

I love Disney cruises but I would absolutely sail on RC again, we had a great time. I really liked the shows. Loved the diving show, really loved the ice skating show. They had this cool guy on board who created art w/ sand... you'd have to see it to understand it. The shopping was great and actually good deals to be had.... much better shopping than Disney. They had a great spa so very comparable to the Fantasy's spa. I will say that it is very different experience than a Disney cruise so go in knowing that its a different vacation experience. I think as my kids get older we'd probably go on more RC cruises because of the variety of shows. After four Disney cruises my kids aren't that excited about the show at Animators Palate and they really prefer the specialty shows (like the magicians, etc) over the Disney themed shows since we've seen them a number of times. So its nice when there is as broadway musical like hair or whatever and more sophisticated shows to choose from. I also liked the casino on board, some of the games didn't have great odds but black jack was ok. My husband and I frequented it a few times.

My boys didn't like the kid club as much but honestly I liked spending time with them on the vacation. On a Disney cruise sometimes I barely see them because they always want to be at the club. The only thing I'd say we missed was the movie theater and outdoor movies. The Oasis does a movie or two indoors but only when a show isn't being performed. And they also do outdoor movies, but only when a diving competition isn't being performed, so you have to time it all.

The pools were saltwater on the Oasis and they could sting your eyes, but really wasn't a huge deal. I liked the variety of food better on the Oasis, but I liked the qualify of the servers better on Disney. We did have the same servers the entire cruise, but I'm guessing that is because we were in a suite. We were in the same dining room every night which can be a bit boring, but I liked that the dinners were a bit shorter so we can enjoy ship activities more.

I would absolutely recommend you try RC, I think you'd like it. I'm pretty picky :)
 


just thinking of trying a different line than DCL if we could find one for a good savings
our situation is 5 people, 2 adults, 3kids (14, 12, 12) . We really can only go for about 7-10 days in late may or early june. its difficult trying to price it on website with 5 (have call)
We love DCL but we have already done their western & eastern carribean itinerary.
is RCC an option for us or is that time about the same price wise? especially considering the size of rooms, we have always done balcony on DCL

any info appreciated
mikewdw

We have done one cruise on the Anthem following 4 cruises on DCL. We loved Anthem, although perhaps the Oasis class has even more to offer for families. Our DS was nearly 9 on this cruise and he preferred Adventure Ocean kids club to DCL's clubs. He loved them on DCL too, but he participated in a lot more activities on Royal, he loved how interactive the staff were. Adventure Ocean was open nearly all day until 10 pm at no charge.
You had an option to have the child participate in Adventure dining too, where they would get fed lunch or dinner so essentially your kid could be in care all day. After 10 pm there was a $7 per hour charge until 2 am.
During Port days the kids clubs were open non-stop.
Your kids would be in the Living Room teen clubs anyway. I believe Royal splits the kids up 11-13 and 14-17, however they will combine them if there is a lower number of teens onboard. We spoke to a couple with teens on the Anthem and they loved it. They often had the Sea Plex open just for teens either doing sports competitions, bumper cars or rollerblading.
I believe Royal's teen clubs are open until 1 or 2 am at no extra charge.

On Anthem we found dining comparable to DCL - we had better food in the MDRs on DCL, but service on Royal in the MDR was just as great if not better than on DCL. Lots of specialty dining options with food better there than DCL. Loved Jamie's Italian. We had a drink package, but if we didn't there were plenty included options.

Also had a balcony cabin on Anthem and it was amazing. Better storage than on DCL.
I believe Harmony of the Seas has same cabins as Anthem in terms of storage and decor.
You can probably do a Jr suite for less than DCL.

I did a comparison review of Anthem (Royal) and DCL back in June if you are bored one day and want to read something;)

While we hope to cruise on DCL again, we can't wait to cruise with Royal again either.
DS preferred many things on Royal and he's younger than your children.
He did miss dressing up for pirate night, some shows in the Walt Disney theatre, Aqua Duck and midship detective agency.
But on the other hand he can't stop talking about the North Star, Sea Plex and Adventure Ocean on Anthem.
 
With the KSF promo, I'm very interested in trying RCI again (kids haven't sailed them, hubby and I have). My youngest is 4.5 and would only go into DCL's kid's clubs on the EBTA because his older siblings were in there (and even then, it was a fight).

Would it be better to wait with RCI until he was 6 or would he be allowed to age up into the 6-8yo group if he was almost 6? We are looking at Nov 2018, he turns 6 beginning of Feb 2019.
 
With the KSF promo, I'm very interested in trying RCI again (kids haven't sailed them, hubby and I have). My youngest is 4.5 and would only go into DCL's kid's clubs on the EBTA because his older siblings were in there (and even then, it was a fight).

Would it be better to wait with RCI until he was 6 or would he be allowed to age up into the 6-8yo group if he was almost 6? We are looking at Nov 2018, he turns 6 beginning of Feb 2019.


It really depends on the ship and how many kids are onboard. There's so way to know beforehand. If there aren't many kids onboard they will sometimes allow kids to move up to be with siblings.
 
I jumped ship. Cancelled Disney and booked on Allure of the Seas. The price difference was just too good to pass up. And I get a balcony room which I never could have afforded on Disney. I think the kids age 6&8 will love the ship. The pool area and the kids clubs were what they enjoyed most on Disney. They really werent into waiting in line for characters. So here's to a new adventure.
 
OP: FWIW, we made a similar decision last night. We had a 7-night Canadian cruise booked for next year. By doing an almost identical cruise on the Anthem (even the same departure date), we moved to a 9-night, included gratuities and insurance and still came out ahead over $500 for our party of 3 adults. I love DCL, but would rather cruise more, even if it means trying other lines.
 
With the KSF promo, I'm very interested in trying RCI again (kids haven't sailed them, hubby and I have). My youngest is 4.5 and would only go into DCL's kid's clubs on the EBTA because his older siblings were in there (and even then, it was a fight).

Would it be better to wait with RCI until he was 6 or would he be allowed to age up into the 6-8yo group if he was almost 6? We are looking at Nov 2018, he turns 6 beginning of Feb 2019.

He's going to change soooo much before then.

If it's a sailing with few enough kids that this might be allowed then it's a sailing where they are almost certainly going to combine the 6-8 and 9-11 year olds. And the games (Royal is FAR more hands in and involved than Disney) will be geared for 10ish year olds. And in ds's experience it's all ball games.

So if they allow the age-up your 5 year old will be in a room playing gagaball etc with 11 year olds. When my son was 11 he was already 5' tall.

I wouldn't age up.
 
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He's going to change soooo much before then.

If it's a sailing with few enough kids that this might be allowed then it's a sailing where they are almost certainly going to combine the 6-8 and 9-11 year olds. And the games (Royal is FAR more hands in and involved than Disney) will be geared for 10ish year olds. And in ds'd experience it's all ball games.

So if they allow the age-up your 5 year old will be in a room playing gagaball etc with 11 year olds. When my son was 11 he was already 5' tall.

I wouldn't age up.
Good point! I may book with RC and then see what DCL comes out with for the spring 2019 (we have a placeholder to use) and decide then.
 
Have done 6 Disney cruises (have hit the Magic, Wonder, Fantasy, and Dream) but can no longer justify the pricetag of DCL. Looking at Oasis of the Seas with a kid's sail free promo that puts a week at $2100. Same week on the Diz is almost $8000. I have a 7 and 9 year old. Looking at reviews is tough as I see some folks saying it was the best vacation of their lives, and some saying they wanted to fly home at the first port of call and were disgusted.

How is the lines for the slides/rock wall/zip lines for a Feb cruise?

Is the kid's club just open play, or is it more organized activities? (some reviews say wild free-for-all where kids were injured, some say great organized activities)

Is the Mini golf on par (pun intended) with the Diz golf?

Anything at all on board like the Muppet Mysteries for DCL?
 
Looking at reviews is tough as I see some folks saying it was the best vacation of their lives, and some saying they wanted to fly home at the first port of call and were disgusted.
Whenever I look at reviews (cruises, hotels, restaurants etc) I try to ignore the very positive (5*) and very negative (0/1*) reviews. With the former I find that you get something seen through very rose-coloured glasses, and with the latter it can be one thing that sets someone sour.

How is the lines for the slides/rock wall/zip lines for a Feb cruise?
Zip line can be a bit of a wait but if you go when it first opens up there shouldn't be much of a line. Same with the rock wall. Flowrider usually has a line.

Is the kid's club just open play, or is it more organized activities? (some reviews say wild free-for-all where kids were injured, some say great organized activities)
If you're looking at the Oasis it's probably going to be more organized. There should be quite a few kids on board so they're less likely to merge the Adventure Ocean groups together (meaning your kids would be in separate groups). But the quality of activities is likely determined by who is running things in AO, and I think someone who's been on Oasis recently would be better able to give you an idea on that.

Anything at all on board like the Muppet Mysteries for DCL?
There's nothing exactly like the Muppet Mysteries on board. I'd imagine that you'd get quite gassed on Oasis if they had that. I've never tried The Quest, so I don't know if that equates at all.
 
Have done 6 Disney cruises (have hit the Magic, Wonder, Fantasy, and Dream) but can no longer justify the pricetag of DCL. Looking at Oasis of the Seas with a kid's sail free promo that puts a week at $2100. Same week on the Diz is almost $8000. I have a 7 and 9 year old. Looking at reviews is tough as I see some folks saying it was the best vacation of their lives, and some saying they wanted to fly home at the first port of call and were disgusted.
We went with a 6 and 8 year old and we enjoyed it just as much as our first cruise with them the year before on the Dream.

How is the lines for the slides/rock wall/zip lines for a Feb cruise?
There really aren't slides on these, you have to look at the Harmony. With my 6 and 8 year old the problem was height and weight. Neither could do the zip line, both could do the rockwall (both were able to make it to the very top just once), and only the older one could do the flow rider and that was only after getting him measured four times and a supervisor sign off (for boogie boarding no less, the local places have a much lower height requirement). We usually did the flowrider when they opened for the first hour to hour and a half and that was plenty of time, usually 4-6 in line but they have the whole thing (later in the afternoon when there are longer lines they split it in half with an inflatable). Rock wall was fine when it opened as well and we had decent luck checking it on and off.

Is the kid's club just open play, or is it more organized activities? (some reviews say wild free-for-all where kids were injured, some say great organized activities)
It's more organized than Disney but it's more like organized chaos. They kind of give them an activity with rules and supplies and then stand back to make sure no one maims themselves. For what it's worth, my kids said they liked Disney better but it's probably just because of the video games

Is the Mini golf on par (pun intended) with the Diz golf?
We liked the Disney course better but the RC course was in better shape.

Anything at all on board like the Muppet Mysteries for DCL?
The Allure had these metal spyglass sculptures scattered around that you could turn into a scavenger hunt, but nothing like the Midship Agency.
 
We went with a 6 and 8 year old and we enjoyed it just as much as our first cruise with them the year before on the Dream.


There really aren't slides on these, you have to look at the Harmony. With my 6 and 8 year old the problem was height and weight. Neither could do the zip line, both could do the rockwall (both were able to make it to the very top just once), and only the older one could do the flow rider and that was only after getting him measured four times and a supervisor sign off (for boogie boarding no less, the local places have a much lower height requirement). We usually did the flowrider when they opened for the first hour to hour and a half and that was plenty of time, usually 4-6 in line but they have the whole thing (later in the afternoon when there are longer lines they split it in half with an inflatable). Rock wall was fine when it opened as well and we had decent luck checking it on and off.


It's more organized than Disney but it's more like organized chaos. They kind of give them an activity with rules and supplies and then stand back to make sure no one maims themselves. For what it's worth, my kids said they liked Disney better but it's probably just because of the video games


We liked the Disney course better but the RC course was in better shape.


The Allure had these metal spyglass sculptures scattered around that you could turn into a scavenger hunt, but nothing like the Midship Agency.


Ut oh... a weight requirement?? Any idea what these requirements are? The website said 6 years old and up, so I assumed it was OK. But the reviews often list disappointed kids due to hidden requirements.... My kids are skinny.
 
Ut oh... a weight requirement?? Any idea what these requirements are? The website said 6 years old and up, so I assumed it was OK. But the reviews often list disappointed kids due to hidden requirements.... My kids are skinny.

I think it was 75 lbs on the zip line? Somewhere 70-80. Height was like 52" for the flowrider.
 

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